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The clock ticks. You look at the blank Word document on your
computer screen. Your stomach clenches up in knots. You pray for
inspiration. You dig deep into your ideas bank for the umpteenth
time and are still unable to come up with something you know will
work. You trawl Google search, you sift through Google Alerts and
do everything to zero in on an idea that will lead to some
amazing content. No luck.

Sounds familiar? All inbound marketers, and especially
those in charge of content production, have faced this situation.
Unhappily, this isn’t a one off thing. There will always be a
content piece waiting to be written in very little time.

If you are wishing for a magical solution, there isn’t any
but you can come up with great content when you’re short of
time. But there are three smart solutions that can answer your
problem.

Perhaps you’re thinking “old wine in a new bottle” but not
exactly.

It is this excellent post on BufferApp that helped me come up with this
particular idea. If you haven’t read this post, it’s time you
did. It talks about how you can use existing content to come
up with new exciting content.

Let me give you an example. I have a post on Entrepreneur about
the Elements
of an Irresistible Blog. The first point I have discussed is
‘Give Your Blog a Personality’, which gives me the idea
for a new post on:

“5 Great Ways of Giving Your Blog Some
Personality”

I already have some understanding of the topic. I also have
some ready-made research to fall back on. The framework of the
post is ready, I just have to flesh it out.

Easy? Yes, it is. Give it a try.

Believe me, there are countless free surveys, research reports
and studies available on the World Wide Web waiting to be
converted into highly-researched articles.

Take the case of 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry
Report by Social Media Examiner. This comprehensive,
50-page report can act as a trigger for some great content.
For example, a section talking about the ‘most important
content for marketers’, wherein 58 percent of
marketers said original content was their most important
content. That can be the basis of your content piece titled:

“Why is Original Content the Best Content?”

You now have a reference point for your research, which means
your content can be written quicker and with more focus. What’s
more, you could even cite some of the other ‘figures’ mentioned
in the article. You won’t have to make much of an effort to make
your point and back it up with rock-solid facts and figures.

Pick a ‘hot’ news story doing the rounds in your niche and run
with it. A simple Who, What, Where, When, Why approach to writing
this content will suffice. Remember, it is a news story, so the
reporter might already have tackled the 5 Ws. Your job is to dig
deeper.

If Facebook’s bought a new company, why not give your take on the
‘Why’? The news story in this case forms the center of your
content. Readers don't want a rehash but they are looking for
‘your take’ on the news story. All you need to do is look for
reasons behind this “story.” If you can justify these
reasons with facts and figures that support them, all the better.

So how does this idea help you write quick content? Simple! When
you’ve got ready-made material in your hands, all you need to do
is provide new insights on the news story. Remember, if a
news story is fresh out of the oven, there are no ‘right or
wrong’ insights. Everybody will be giving their take on it, and
so will you.

These tips will definitely make your life easier, but don’t think
of them as substitutes for writing effective content. Focused
effort will still be needed to come up with content your readers
will value. That is not debatable. Lack of time shouldn’t mean
lack of effort. If you’ve got this part sorted out in your head,
you will be home and dry, always.